New Zealand Geothermal Resources Ownership-Cultural and Historical Perspective

Abstract

The development of New Zealand's geothermal resources has been much slower than one might expect, despite apparently favourable reservoir conditions. While the low price of power and recent surplus generation capacity have been significant reasons for this, in part, this slowness of development has been the result of uncertainty: first, in the of resource to sustain a satisfactory output; then in the application of the very complex legislation that applied to the resource; and, more recently, in question of exactly who has the right to develop the resource, despite various Acts of Parliament setting this out. This latter confusion has largely resulted from a consideration of the rights of the indigenous Maori people and the extent of their interest in geothermal resources.